DELTA II SMAP MISSIONA United Launch Alliance Delta II 7320-10 launch vehicle will deliver

the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite to a 370-nmi (685

km) near-circular orbit. Liftoff will be from Space Launch Complex-2

at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA.

SMAP is one of four fi rst-tier missions recommended by the National

Research Council’s Committee on Earth Science and Applications

from Space. The accuracy, resolution, and global coverage of SMAP

soil moisture and freeze/thaw measurements are invaluable across

many science and applications disciplines including hydrology,

climate, carbon cycle, and the meteorological, environmental and

ecology applications communities. Future water resources are a

critical societal impact of climate change, and scientifi c understanding of how such change may affect water supply and food production is crucial for

policy makers. Current climate model uncertainties result in disagreement on whether there will be more or less water regionally compared to today;

SMAP data will enable climate models to be brought into agreement on future trends in water resource availability. For these reasons, the Committee’s

Water Resources Panel gave SMAP the highest mission priority within its fi eld of interest.

The SMAP mission is managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) within NASA’s Earth Systematic Mission (ESM) Program. The Jet

Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) built the spacecraft and is assigned responsibility for the overall success of the SMAP project. NASA’s Launch Services

Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for launch management.

- 43rd Delta II Launch from Space Launch Complex-2

- 52nd NASA Mission on Delta II

- 153rd Delta II Launch

MISSION OVERVIEW

The ULA team is proud to be the launch provider for NASA’s Soil

Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. One of four fi rst-tier missions

recommended by the National Research Council’s Committee on Earth

Science and Applications from Space, SMAP will provide global, high-

resolution mapping of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state to link

terrestrial water, energy, and carbon-cycle processes, and to extend

capabilities of weather and climate prediction models.

The ULA team is focused on attaining Perfect Product Delivery for the

SMAP mission, which includes a relentless focus on mission success

(the perfect product) and also excellence and continuous improvement

in meeting all of the needs of our customers (the perfect delivery).

We sincerely thank the entire team which consists of NASA, the Jet

Propulsion Laboratory, ULA, and major suppliers of ULA.

Go Delta, Go SMAP!

Jim SponnickVice President, Atlas and Delta Programs

With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the nation’s most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 90 satellites to orbit that provide critical capabilities for troops in the fi eld, aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, enable personal device-based GPS navigation and unlock the mysteries of our solar system.

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Booster

Second Stage

Solid Rocket Motors

SMAP Spacecraft

Payload Fairing

Guidance Electronics

Miniskirt andSupport Truss

Helium Spheres

Interstage

Oxidizer Tank

Nitrogen Sphere

Wiring Tunnel

Fuel Tank

Centerbody Section

PAF

Payload Fairing (PLF)The PLF is a composite bisector (two-piece shell), 10-ft diameter fairing. The PLF

encapsulates the spacecraft to protect it from the launch environment on ascent. The

vehicle’s height, with the 10-ft PLF is approximately 128 ft.

Second StageThe Delta II second stage propellant tanks are constructed of corrosion-resistant

stainless steel. The Delta II second stage is a hypergolic- (Aerozine 50 and Nitrogen

Tetroxide) fueled vehicle. It uses a single AJ10-118K engine producing 9,850 lb of

thrust. The propellant tanks are insulated with Dacron/Mylar blankets. The second

stage’s miniskirt/guidance section provides the load path for the payload to the

booster as well as, the structural support for the second stage propellant tanks, the

PLF, mountings for vehicle electronics, and the structural and electronic interfaces

with the spacecraft. The second stage, other than the mini-skirt, is nested inside the

interstage adapter.

BoosterThe Delta II booster is 8 ft in diameter and approximately 87 ft in length. The

booster’s fuel and oxidizer tanks are structurally rigid and constructed of stiffened

isogrid aluminum barrels and spun-formed aluminum domes. The booster structure

is completed by the centerbody, which joins the fuel and oxidizer tanks and the LO2

skirt, which joins the tank structure to the engine section. Delta II booster propulsion

is provided by the RS-27A engine. The RS-27A burns RP-1 (Rocket Propellant-1

or highly purifi ed kerosene) and liquid oxygen, and delivers 200,000 lb thrust at sea

level. The Delta II booster is controlled by the second stage avionics system which

provides guidance, fl ight control, and vehicle sequencing functions during the booster

and second stage phases of fl ight.

Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

ULALaunch.com

Copyright © 2015 United Launch Alliance, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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555

68 110

12

Longitude (deg)

Geod

etic

Lat

itude

(de

g)

80

60

40

20

0

-20

-80

-60

-40

-135 -90 -45 0 1359045

Telemetry Ground Station

Launch Vehicle /Spacecraft Groundtrack

TDRS Asset Geostationary Orbital Position

TDRS 41

WR

HULA

Guam

HBK

TDRS 275

Diego GarciaTDRS 171

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8

10

MISSION PROFILE AND GROUND TRACE

All Values Approximate

Time(hr:min:sec)Event

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2

3456

7

8

9

10

DELTA II PRODUCTION AND LAUNCH

Brigham City, UT– Solid Rocket Motor Fabrication

at Alliant Technologies

Denver, CO– ULA Headquarters & Design

Center Engineering

Decatur, AL– Booster, Payload Fairing and

Second Stage Fabrication

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2

5

34

1Booster

10-ft PayloadFairing

Spacecraft

Solid Rocket Motor (SRM)Second Stage

PayloadAdapterFitting

UmbilicalTower

InterstageAdapter

Building 1670 | Receiving, inspection, staging,

fi nal processing and material stores

Building 936 | Receiving, inspection and booster transfer

Hazardous Processing Facility | Receiving, inspection,

destruct installation and second stage nozzle installation

Spacecraft Processing Facility | Spacecraft processing, testing and encapsulation

Mobile Service Tower | Launch vehicle integration and testing, spacecraft mate and integrated operations

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5

3

2

Mobile Service Tower (MST)

Launch Vehicle

Fixed Umbilical Tower (FUT)

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Time(seconds)

Space Launch Complex-2

211

2

3

3

2

Perigee Altitude: 361.6 nmi | Apogee Altitude: 369.6 nmi | Inclination: 98.116 deg | Flight Azimuth: 196 deg

Engine Ignition -3.0 -00:00:03.0

Liftoff 0.0 00:00:00.0

Mach 1 35.8 00:00:35.8

Max Dynamic Pressure 50.3 00:00:50.3

SRM Burnout 64.7 00:01:04.7

SRM Jettison 99.0 00:01:39.0

Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) 261.8 00:04:21.8

First Stage Separation 268.0 00:04:28.0

Second Stage Ignition 276.0 00:04:36.0

Payload Fairing Jettison 295.0 00:04:55.0

First Cutoff—Second Stage (SECO-1) 643.6 00:10:43.6

First Restart—Second Stage 3098.0 00:51:38.0

Second Cutoff—Second Stage (SECO-2) 3110.1 00:51:50.1

SMAP Separation 3410.5 00:56:50.5